School is out for Summer, we are hearing from our theme park friends how busy and vibrant the parks are this time of year. There’s nothing like a summer of rides and thrills, immersed in fantastical worlds and stories. Today’s blog post is a celebration of these fantastical worlds and the summer of dragons we are having, with the release of ‘How To Train Your Dragon’. Did you know that Garmendale has worked on several projects with those fire breathing beasts, lets revisit a few together now. 

Over the years we have worked with Camel Creek to sustain and refurbish there wild runaway dragon coaster Morgawr for several summers. A family coaster that just needed some Garmendale Engineering TLC, we’ve refurbished everything from cosmetic to chassis repairs. Though our favourite dragon project is something slightly wetter… 

Breathing New Life into a Classic: Dragon Falls Log Flume Refurbishment

At Chessington World of Adventures, Dragon Falls is a fan favourite — a scenic log flume with a thrilling finale that leaves riders grinning. But even icons need a little TLC, and after years of exposure to the elements, parts of the ride’s structure were beginning to show their age.

To ensure the long-term safety and reliability of Dragon Falls, Chessington brought in Garmendale to carry out a thorough refurbishment of the trough structure — the heart of the flume. Our inspections revealed decay in critical areas, particularly the spine brackets that connect the steel support work to the main trough spine.

This was no ordinary repair. The ride’s complex layout twists through the landscape and, in places, is partially submerged — making access and repairs especially challenging. Our goal: extend the life of Dragon Falls while working safely and efficiently within these constraints.

Rather than dismantling the entire structure, our experienced site teams completed the refurbishment on location. Working from a detailed third-party inspection report, we removed, assessed, and either repaired or re-manufactured the corroded sections. This included:

• Re-drilling base plates
• Reinforcing concrete foundations with chemical anchors
• Refurbishing corroded stanchion legs

By the end of the project, the integrity of Dragon Falls was fully restored — ensuring that generations of riders can continue enjoying the splash-filled adventure for years to come.

Keeping in the theme of dragons, we wanted to congratulate the creatives and dreamers that brought Universal Epic Universe to life. The entire team behind this project should be incredibly proud of the cutting-edge engineering, and crowd-pleasing experience they’ve created across the park’s 5 themed worlds. It cannot be underestimated, the hours of planning, preparing, engineering, installing, and testing that goes into a project of this magnitude. Congratulations, the dream is open to the public, and it’s hard not to be brimming with pride to be in this industry. 

Extra special congratulations to the team behind the immersive family water ride, Fyre Drill, a highlight of Universal’s Isle Of Berk, a land dedicated to the How To Train Your Dragon Films. We cannot wait to experience the ride in person. For now, we are living vicariously through the thousands of happy visitors whose minds are being blown by the incredible levels of creativity poured into this ride system. The expertly crafted show action pieces and themed sets bring this world of dragons to life, and it’s hard not to jump on a plane right now to experience the magic of Universal’s Epic Universe.

We’ve already bragged about dinosaur proof engineering, I guess its dragon proof as well. Any enquiries of any kind, drop us a message on the website (it doesn’t have to be dragon themed).